Fona

Fona
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), ~99.4–99.2 Ma
Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Family: Thescelosauridae
Subfamily: Thescelosaurinae
Genus: Fona
Avrahami et al., 2024
Species:
F. herzogae
Binomial name
Fona herzogae
Avrahami et al., 2024

Fona (/ˈftnɑː/ foht-NAH; lit.'the origin') is an extinct genus of thescelosaurine thescelosaurid ornithischian dinosaurs from the 'mid'-Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation (Mussentuchit Member) of Utah, United States. The genus contains a single species, F. herzogae, known from several partial skeletons and skulls. Based on anatomical similarities to the closely related and similarly aged Oryctodromeus, Fona was likely a semi-fossorial animal, likely spending a significant amount of time in underground burrows. It also represents the oldest known definitive thescelosaurine.[1]

  1. ^ Avrahami, Haviv M.; Makovicky, Peter J.; Tucker, Ryan T.; Zanno, Lindsay E. (2024-07-09). "A new semi-fossorial thescelosaurine dinosaur from the Cenomanian-age Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25505. ISSN 1932-8486. PMID 38979930.